A surge in appointments follows the issuing of new vaccination rules in France.

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More than 1.3 million people in France were reported to have booked appointments for coronavirus shots within hours of President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of new vaccination requirements as the authorities scrambled to fend off a rise in infections driven by the Delta variant.

The surge in registrations, reflected in data provided by Doctolib, a widely-used private online booking platform, represents nearly 2 percent of France’s population. It comes after Mr. Macron said on Monday that inoculation would be made mandatory for health care workers and that proof of immunization or a recent negative test would soon be required to enter restaurants and cultural venues.

With the fast-spreading Delta variant taking hold, however, it was uncertain whether the measures would be enough to avoid a fourth wave of the virus in France. Delta already accounts for about half of new infections in the country.

Mr. Macron’s announcement came just three days after nightclubs reopened for the first time in 16 months, which many believed had symbolically signaled the completion of France’s protracted efforts to emerge from the pandemic. But the new measures dashed hopes of a return to a prepandemic normal and of a smooth summer vacation season.

In his televised address, Mr. Macron spoke of “a strong resurgence of the epidemic” that would require France to redouble use of “a key asset”: vaccines.

He announced that he wanted to pass a law that would require all health workers to get vaccinated by Sept. 15 and that the goal was now to “put restrictions on the unvaccinated rather than on everyone.”

The law is likely to pass this summer as most political parties are in favor of mandatory vaccinations for health care workers.

After Mr. Macron’s announcement, the French health minister, Olivier Véran, said on television, “Starting Sept. 15, if you are a health care worker and you’re not vaccinated, you won’t be able to work and you won’t be paid.”

Starting July 21, anyone entering a cultural venue or an amusement park will also need to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test for the virus. The requirement will be extended in August to restaurants, shopping centers, hospitals, retirement homes and long-distance transportation.

France will also start charging money for some virus tests, which until now were free, “to encourage vaccination rather than increased testing,” Mr. Macron said.

The government aims to get two-thirds of people fully protected by the end of August, but public demand has dwindled in recent weeks because of vaccine hesitancy and a growing sense among many people that the virus is no longer a threat.

On Monday, Mr. Macron stopped short of making vaccinations obligatory but added that such an option may be considered, “depending on the evolution of the situation.”

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/07/13 ... ne-updates